A new desk chair

We needed a chair for the desk in our bedroom and searched all over the internet and at the usual furniture stores where we like to shop at but weren't finding anything that we liked or that fit our budget.  After several trips to thrift stores and visits to Craigslist and Hiipswap (which is a very cool site for those of you who haven't check it out) we still hadn't found the perfect chair.  One day while we were out for a drive in our new 'hood we found this store Wertz Brothers near our apartment on Santa Monica Boulevard that sells used and antique furniture.  The store had some really amazing pieces from full dining sets and huge wardrobes to an entire floor of single chairs!  I was in DIY heaven! 

After looking through rows and rows of different chairs we found on for a great price.  I did not like the wood or cushion colors as they were, I knew it would be perfect for the refinishing project I had in mind.  The chair itself had a good style and intricate pattern on the back.  The teal pleather seat-cover was awful but that's a very easy fix with some new fabric.  Even Elvis seemed a little freaked out by the color (or when I took the picture he was just nervous that he was up on a chair - something he's usually not allowed to do).

 Here is the chair before its makeover. 

I wanted the chair to match the colors in our bedroom, white and gray with yellow accents.  I refinished the chair, following these steps. 

1. Dave removed the screws holding the teal cushion on the chair.  Then with fine gauge sandpaper I sanded the entire chair before painting it. 

2. I used a soft foam brush to paint the entire chair with a white primer and let it dry overnight.  

3.  Then I look a can of white latex paint and painted over the primer.

4.  Using a cute white and yellow damask print fabric I bought on Etsy.com and a staple gun, I covered the teal pleather up, hopefully never to be seen again.

Here is the finished project.  Having a fresh chair is definitely going to make all those late nights of studying much more enjoyable!

Definitely a huge improvement from the before.......................................to after.

Rosie's Dog Beach

I've definitely been neglecting my blog but have so much to update you all on.  I was busy studying for the California bar exam (which I might add was a terrible experience) and then I went to the East coast for a two fantastic weddings and a weekend with my family and on top of all that I have started my LL.M. (Master of Laws) program at UCLA.  Its been a busy few months so I have lots to share about my travels and adventures on both coasts!  

But first after the bar exam, and weeks of feeling guilty for neglecting Elvis, we decided to take him to Rosie's Dog Beach in Long Beach. It's just a short drive from LA to Long Beach but totally worth it because Elvis loved it!!!  Rosie's Dog Beach is a 3-acre off-leash dog beach named after the bulldog Rosie that inspired its creation.  Dogs are free to go in the ocean and run freely on the beach.  Elvis tried to go into the water.  It was his first time at the ocean so he seemed really curious but once he got wet and saw a huge wave coming he ran straight for the sand. I don't think Frenchies are known to be good swimmers!

After a long day at the beach Elvis needed a rest in the shade before we went home.

Weekend with "Grandma"

Elvis had a very special visitor last weekend.  Dave's mom came to LA and Elvis was so excited to see her!  She also brought Elvis a special new toy...a lobsta from Boston!  Elvis loves its, of course. He likes to grab on to the smallest pieces of his toys with his mouth and carry them around so a lobster with lots of tentacles to bite could not be more perfect for him.

While Dave's mom was here we also went to the Huntington Library and Gardens in Pasadena.  It was beautiful!  Its sort of a giant botanical garden with a variety of different gardens in various sections of the property.  My favorite part was definitely the Japanese garden.

Then to top off the day we went to the Sprinkles Cupcake ATM! I love sprinkles cupcakes.  I first visited the Beverly Hills cupcake shop several years ago when I visited LA and I can't believe I've lived here for two months already and haven't gone to Sprinkles yet!  We took Dave's mom to see the 24 hour cup-cake ATM Sprinkles has installed between the Sprinkles Cupcake store and the new Sprinkles Ice Cream shop (which I will definitely be trying soon so stay tuned!).  And I wanted her to try a cupcake at Sprinkles becuase they really are the best.  I've had most of Sprinkles regular flavors and love them all but I wanted to try something different, so I chose the lemon blueberry cupcake which is a limited time flavor for the Fourth of July.  It was lemon cake filled with wild blueberries and topped with lemon cream cheese frosting.  It tasted like a light lemony frosted blueberry muffin and was beyond delicious!

Green Juice

Now that Elvis is clean I felt like I could use a little cleansing too so I decided to break out our juicer from the moving boxes.  I'm a huge fan of green juice for its many health benefits.  I'll sometimes replace my breakfast with a green juice once in a while to get my day off to a healthy start and get a full days worth of fruits and veggies in one serving.    The color doesn't always look so appetizing but if you use the right combo of fruits and veggies it can really taste great, I promise!

One of my bridesmaids got us an amazing Breville Juicer for a wedding gift and its definitely one of my favorite, and most used, kitchen tools. 

I like to add a leafy green to the mix if at all possible because comined with fruit you don't even taste it.  Today I decided to try kale.  I combined it with some other fruits and veggies and it was delicious and super healthy.  

Here's the recipie if you want to try it out.

1/2  bag of pre-chopped kale
 2    small cucumbers
 2    granny smith apples cut into pieces
 3    stalks of celery cut into small pieces
 1    whole pineapple peeled, cored and cut into pieces

Makes about 2 16 oz. glasses of juice. 

Bath time for Elvis

I save a lot of money bathing Elvis at home rather than taking him to a groomer.  We started giving him baths ourselves when he was just a puppy so he get used to it and now doesn't seems to mind it at all.  In fact, he usually comes trotting into the bathroom as soon as he hears the bathtub water running.  Because he has short hair it doesn't need to be cut so I felt like the groomer was a waste of money.  I can buy a bottle of puppy shampoo at PetCo for a 1/4 of what I would pay for one bath at the groomer too.  For today's bath I tried a new de-shedding shampoo (by FURminator - my new favorite brand) that I found at PetCo.  We'll see if it actually helps with the shedding but it does smell like pineapple which is great!

Elvis is a total baby after the bath though.  He loves to be wrapped up in a towel and hang out in our laps or on his bed while he dries.  Here are a few shots of bath time...he's so spoiled 

My Current Obsessions

1. California Wineries

There are so many benefits to living in California but one of best is the insane amount of wine and vineyards it has.  I just learned from Wikipedia that California produces 90% of America's wine and if California was its own country it would be the world's 4th largest producer of wine. I also learned over the weekend that apparently there are several of the state's great vineyards just within a short drive from LA. 

I was invited to a bachelorette party this past weekend in Santa Ynez, an area in the central California coast, north of Santa Barbra.  The film Sideways was actually set (and shot on location) in the Santa Ynez Valley and I have to say it was really beautiful.  We visited Bridlewood Estate Winery which was so beautiful, had dinner at the Los Olvios Cafe in Los Olivos which was delicious and drank a slightly excessive amount of fantastic Santa Ynez wine. 

Here's are two pictures of the entrance to Bridlewood.

2. Chocolate with Carmel and Sea Salt

I've recently discovered that chocolate with carmel and sea salt just may be the most delicious combination ever.  I was shopping at Trader Joe's market and looking for something to satisfy my ever hungry sweet tooth.  I asked the check out clerk which of the TJ's chocolate bar she liked the best and without hesitation she reached behind her and grabbed this...

The Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Bar with Caramel and Black Sea Salt!

The package describes the bar as:

Exotic Hawaiian Black Sea Salt hails from the Pacific seawater that surrounds the Hawaiian islands. This stunning black salt is evaporated in above ground pools that form naturally from lava flows. Together, its smoky aroma and intense caramel complement this sophisticated dark chocolate experience. 

It honestly lives up to its over the top description.  This chocolate bar is amazing and so addictive.  I cannot go to the store now and not buy one. 

My obsession with with this chocolate/caramel/salt combination goes well beyond the chocolate bar  so for the bachelorette party this weekend I decided to bake a desert to share.  I used this recipe for Chocolate Chip Salted Caramel Cookie Bars that was recommended by a friend.  You basically make a blondie recipe and then melt caramel candies and layer the gooey melted carmel in the middle with a sprinkle of sea salt over the top.  They are amazing. 

Here is a picture from the Two Peas in a Pod site where the recipe is from.

3. Trader Joe's Salt Water Taffy

Another great find at Trader Joe's are these Salt Water Taffy candies.  They come in really delicious flavors and look very pretty set out in a glass bowl on our coffee table.  They also remind me of summertime in New England so its like having a little bit of home here in Cali. 

California Pup

We are all loving life in California...especially Elvis.  The weather is perfect for him... not too hot or humid and rarely any rain.  He's adjusted to the laid back lifestyle quite well. 

Our new apartment has a nice patio with some potted plants and its Elvis' favorite place to hang out.  I found a wicker dog bed at Pier 1 with a burnt orange cushion that matches our wicker patio chairs so perfectly I couldn't pass it up.  As soon as Elvis comes back from his morning walk he heads straight out to the patio for a nap in the sunshine.  Must be nice!

With all this nice warm weather though, we have noticed Elvis is shedding so much more than he did back on the East coast.  Our floors have been getting constantly dirty with his white hairs that we finally decided we had to do something about it.  So here's a tip for other puppy parents...we found this thing called the FURminator...here's a link to their website.  It's honestly amazing!  It really works and has helped so much with the shedding.